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Track(s) taken from CDA67710

Piano Sonata in C major, Hob XVI:48

composer
published in 1789 by Breitkopf

Marc-André Hamelin (piano)
Recording details: August 2008
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: August 2009
Total duration: 12 minutes 19 seconds

Cover artwork: Portrait of Joseph Haydn engraved by F A Andorff by Carl Jäger
The Cobbe Collection Trust, UK / Bridgeman Images
 

Other recordings available for download

Peter Donohoe (piano)

Reviews

‘One of the outstanding releases of the Haydn celebratory year’ (International Record Review)

‘A marvellously polished collection of performances … he is a model of correctness, with enough wit, exuberance and the most exquisite lightness of touches to keep the music buoyant’ (The Guardian)

‘Hamelin is most associated with virtuoso fireworks for piano, but he can also miniaturise himself exquisitely to suit Haydn's wit and elegance … the spring in his fingers is delightful’ (The Times)

‘As always, Haydn's originality astonishes and delights in his piano music as much as in his symphonies and string quartets. Hamelin revels in the tongue-in-cheek high jinks of the finale to the E minor sonata (No 34) … and is especially compelling in the great C major (No 48) … works that rank with the finest creations of the Viennese Classical period. An unmissable bargain at two-discs-for-the-price of one’ (The Sunday Times)

‘The continuous outpouring of beautiful tone; it's mesmerizing … these performances are beyond criticism’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘They sound absolutely superb, in the right hands, on the modern grand piano. And Marc-André Hamelin has the right hands, as his first two-disc set showed … playing of crisp clarity and deep feeling, superbly recorded’ (Dominion Post, New Zealand)

‘This Hyperion double set contains some of the finest performances of Haydn sonatas I have heard. Hamelin's playing overflows with ardent lyricism and I especially enjoyed his naturalness of rubato. The close sound quality from the Henry Wood Hall is impressive and the booklet essay by Richard Wigmore is helpful too’ (MusicWeb International)
In 1789, the Leipzig publisher Breitkopf announced that Haydn was writing ‘six Clavier sonatas’ for publication by subscription. Breitkopf evidently failed to attract sufficient subscribers, and in the event only one sonata appeared, the C major No 48. Although in two movements only, like the sonatas for Marie Esterházy, it is far grander than they are, and exploits the fortepiano’s whole range with unprecedented power and flamboyance. In the sonata-rondo finale the keyboard even becomes a surrogate orchestra. The second half of the contredanse theme evokes bantering repartee between bassoons and oboes, while just before the end a rousing tutti, complete with timpani rolls, is comically deflated by timidly stuttering violins. Just as original in its sonorities is the opening Andante con espressione, music both elevated and capricious that crosses Haydn’s favourite double variation form (the minore theme is both a variation and a development of the rhapsodic opening) with the spirit of a free fantasia.

from notes by Richard Wigmore © 2009

En 1789, Breitkopf annonça que Haydn écrivait «six sonates pour clavier» en vue d’une publication par souscription. À l’évidence, l’éditeur leipzigois ne parvint pas à attirer assez de souscripteurs car seule une sonate, la no 48 en ut majeur, parut. Comme les sonates pour Marie Esterházy, elle n’a que deux mouvements; mais elle est bien plus grandiose et exploite toute l’étendue du pianoforte avec une puissance et un flamboiement sans précédents. Dans le finale en rondo de sonate, le clavier se fait même orchestre de substitution. La seconde moitié du thème de contredanse évoque une plaisante repartie entre basson et hautbois tandis que, juste avant la fin, un vibrant tutti, avec roulements de timbales, est comiquement dégonflé par des violons bégayant timidement. Tout aussi original dans ses sonorités, l’Andante con espressione inaugural est une musique à la fois élevée et fantasque qui croise la forme préférée de Haydn, la double variation (le thème minore est et une variation et un développement de l’ouverture rhapsodique), avec l’esprit d’une fantaisie libre.

extrait des notes rédigées par Richard Wigmore © 2009
Français: Hypérion

1789 kündigte der Leipziger Verleger Breitkopf an, dass Haydn „sechs Claviersonaten“ zur Veröffentlichung durch Subskription schrieb. Anscheinend konnte Breitkopf nicht genug Subskribenten finden, und am Ende erschien nur eine Sonate, Nr. 48 in C-Dur. Obwohl sie wie die Sonaten für Marie Eszterházy nur zwei Sätze hat, ist sie wesentlich größer angelegt als diese und nutzt den ganzen Umfang des Fortepianos mit beispielloser Kraft und Flair. Im Sonatenrondo-Finale übernimmt das Klavier praktisch die Rolle eines Orchesters. Die zweite Hälfte des Kontratanz-Themas evoziert neckisches Geplänkel zwischen Fagotten und Oboen, während kurz vor dem Ende ein mitreißendes Tutti, komplett mit Paukenwirbel, durch schüchtern stotternde Violinen komisch abflaut. In seiner Klangwelt ebenso originell ist das einleitende Andante con espressione mit Musik, die sowohl erhaben als kapriziös ist und Haydns beliebte Doppelvariationen-Form (in der das Minore sowohl eine Variation als auch eine Verarbeitung des rhapsodischen Anfangs darstellt) mit dem Wesen einer freien Fantasie kreuzt.

aus dem Begleittext von Richard Wigmore © 2009
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

Other albums featuring this work

Haydn: Keyboard Works, Vol. 1
Studio Master: SIGCD7262CDs Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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